1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method employing forced hot air for use in removing selected sections of filler material from electrical cords after the outer sheath of insulation is removed.
2. Description of the Prior Art And Objective Of The Invention
Conventional electrical cords are formed from a variety of substances and in a variety of configurations yet many utilize a filler material which is non-conductive and is used to separate wires or conductive surfaces within the electrical cord. Typically, an electrical cord is constructed having an outer sheath of a non-conductive material such as a polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Within this outer covering or sheath is a plurality of electrical wires which may be individually covered with PVC or other non-conductive coatings but may still require filler for insulation, protection from abuse and to provide the desired strength and rigidity for the completed cord. While the filler serves useful purposes the cord is generally manufactured in long, continuous lengths and when it arrives at assembly plants for use on appliances or the like, the cord must be cut to a desired approximate length and thereafter the conducting wires within must be stripped for attachment to their designated connections. This stripping procedure is generally done by hand and is a time consuming and laborious task which adds significant cost to the finished product. One of the main problems in stripping cords is in removing the filler material therefrom. Such filler materials are oftentimes formed from synthetic fibers such polypropylene, jute, paper or other generally low cost materials. Removing the outer sheath from the cord is a relatively simple procedure since the sheath can be cut to a uniform depth, however the filler material is often interwined with the conducting wires and therefore must be hand separated and then carefully severed from the cord. As certain synthetic fillers generally consist of a plurality of threads, such hand separation often omits certain of the threads whereby these missed threads cause problems and concern during later steps of cord attachment to connectors, terminals or other devices.
With the disadvantages and problems arising from prior art methods of removing fillers, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a safe and complete method and device for quickly and efficiently removing fillers from electrical cords.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a filler remover device which is relatively easy to operate and which will allow the removal of various filler materials from a variety of cord configurations.
It is yet another objectives of the present invention to provide a filler remover device which can be successfully operated with very little training and yet will provide complete, uniform filler removal.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a method for filler removal from electrical cords in which a pulse generator applies a high pressure blast to a cord in which the filler has been somewhat degraded to finally and completely remove the filler therefrom.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed explanation of the invention is set forth below.